Why Gai Is Called the Green Beast of Konoha
by KrazyKeke
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Gai calls himself "the Green Beast"? I mean, surely there are better names than that? Well, this one shot should provide you with some insight into the man's mind and how he claimed the one he loved in a roundabout way


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto characters mentioned in the story, though I like Haku, Akatuski, Zabuza, the original Ino-Shika-Cho, the Sandaime, and the Yondaime

Summary: Harry Potter was once The-Man-Who-Defeated-Voldermort, an icon and symbol of the Light in the Wizarding World, the Master of Death and bearer of all three Deathly Hallows, until wizards died out and the age of shinobi began, bringing forth a new era of war and destruction. Harry wandered the land until he eventually tired, then he settled down in Konoha, working as a blacksmith. He gained the attention of Maito Gai one day, and thus the reason Gai calls himself the Green Beast of Konoha comes to light...

Chapter One: (Team 7 Training Grounds) "Oi, Kakashi Sensei, you're not reading Ero-Sennin's book, and you're actually on time for once. What gives? Are you going to train us a new jutsu, huh? Are you? Are you?" Naruto asked, noticing their Sensei, although technically, he wasn't their Sensei anymore as they were all Chuunin now, running up to the silver haired jonin.

"Actually, Naruto, I can't. Today's...a bad day for me. A...tradition, one might say." Kakashi replied flippantly.

"Tradition for what?" Naruto demanded, annoyed that training had been cancelled.

"Naruto, you baka!" Sakura slugged Naruto in the head. "Obviously, it's something personal, right, Sensei?" Sakura smiled, looking so angelic and innocent, it was nauseating.

"It's, uh...More of a jonin thing, top secret. Well, later!" In a poof of smoke, Kakashi was gone.

"Hn. He's hiding something." Sasuke grunted, running his hands through his hair.

"You're right, Sasuke-kun. Whatever it is, it's obviously bothering him, he's even more of a liar than before." Sakura instantly agreed, though she had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Whatever. I think Kakashi Sensei's fine and you two need to leave him alone." Naruto frowned. "I'm going to get some ramen!" He declared as he saw Sakura's darkening face.

"Na-ru-tooooooooo! GET BACK HERE!" Sakura demanded, giving chase after the blonde who yelped and began to run away.

"No way, Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head at his teammates' foolishness. 'Its like they haven't grown up at all...' "Something is definitely up with Kakashi, and he says it a jonin thing. I could ask around..."

(Dango shop)

"Hm, so Kakashi fed you that bullshit excuse, eh, Uchiha? Can't say I'm too surprised." Anko muttered after she took a sip of green tea and bit into her dango, ignoring Sasuke's grimace of disgust. "Suck it up, do you want to know or not?"

"I'm already paying you a lump sum of my last mission's savings. Talk." Sasuke said bluntly. Anko glared at him, but he only stared back. It'd been years since she scared him.

Anko sighed theatrically. "Fine. It's like this: Ever year, since the Kyuubi attack sixteen years ago, Gai has been asking out a certain someone to go on a date with him, and every odd year, this certain someone agrees, if only to shut Gai up or spare his feelings, whatever. These last 3 years, however, rumor has it that Gai's taken it a little farther and asked this certain someone to marry him."

Sasuke looked at her as if she'd sprouted wings. "You're lying."

Anko looked smug. "I'm not, little Uchiha. It's the total truth and nothing but the truth. Gai's in love, and if the rumor mill is as accurate as I know it is, this certain someone won't marry Gai because he's a shinobi."

"So...you're saying that Gai Sensei is in love with a c-" Anko shoved a dango stick in Sasuke's mouth, ignoring his sour expression.

"Shh! It's a secret that only the jonin know about because we've all caught him blubbering over his failed proposal once or twice. If this got out, the civilian might just decide to pack up and leave Konoha for good." Anko practically hissed, looking around warily.

"I don't understand. If this whole thing has been going on for almost twenty years, why would being a shinobi be such a big deal?" Sasuke asked as he chewed on the dango stick.

Anko shrugged. "Hell if I know. Some say Gai's just being used for sex, some say it's pity, many say for convience. Whatever the case is, Gai's in too deep to deny that certain someone anything, even at the expense of being repeatedly rebuked in his proposals and, worst case scenario, a broken heart."

"So, why does Kakashi care?" Sasuke asked reluctantly.

"No matter how flippant Kakashi acts, brat, he does consider Gai his friend, and he knows who this certain someone is _personally_."

(Misurgi Kai's Weapon's Shop)

"Get **off** of my case, Kakashi-san! I swear to Kami, between you, Kurenai, Asuma, Genma, Shizune, and that idiot, Gai, himself, you're all driving me batshit crazy!" Slamming down a kunai unnecessarily hard, the 5'3", long black haired, angry green eyed, pale skinned, handsome in an almost divine way, man, glared angrily at the jonin. "Why can't you all butt out and let Gai be an adult for once? I've already told him I don't want to get married. End of discussion."

The laid back jonin glared back, just as angry. "No. This isn't 'end of discussion'. You've been fucking Gai all these years, leading him on, letting him spoil you and shower you with excessive affection. I've had enough of this bullshit. Either you want him and you'll marry him, make him happy, or cut him loose, because I'm tired of you using him when you're in the mood, then tossing him aside like he ain't shit!"

"Fuck you! You don't know what you're talking about." The man spat. "Wait, is that what Gai tells you? He tells you that I use him, that I lead him on? Well, you've got it wrong, you've got it so wrong, it's laughable. Gai comes to me for comfort, he comes to me, I don't come to him. I don't need him. I don't need anyone!"

"Is that really how you feel?" Kakashi and the man tensed. "Is that...is that _really_ how you feel, Kai?" Gai asked, pain in his eyes and his tone of voice. The man, Kai, opened and closed his mouth, making a gesture with his hands, but he couldn't say anything, so he looked to Kakashi, but Kakashi grabbed his kunai and left. "All these years, and now, you just..." Gai waved vaguely at nothing, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I suppose what everyone's been trying to tell me for years is true."

"Gai, koibito, wait-" Kai tried to grab Gai's hands, but Gai yanked them out of reach. "Gai, please, I... you're not being fair."

"Fair?" Gai let out a rough bark of laughter and Kai flinched. "You want to talk about fair? Fine. It's not **fair** that when I tell you I love you, you either ignore me or make up an excuse not to answer. It's not **fair** that you won't marry me. It's not **fair** that you know I love you, but you can't decide whether or not you want to be seen in public with me, as more than an associate. That's not **fair**." Abruptly, he turned to leave, but Kai grabbed his jonin vest, clinging to it desperately. "Let go."

"No. You've been chasing me for years and after all this, you're just going to-"

"Give in? Admit defeat? This is better than fooling myself into thinking you love me. I've let you kick me when I was down, I let you have all the power in this relationship, but now, I'm taking it back. It's over."

"Gai." Gai yanked free and threw open the door. "Gai!" The man slammed the door as he left. "Gai..." Kai sobbed, sinking to the floor.

For two weeks, Gai kept away from Kai's shop. He didn't talk about Kai and seemed to forget about him altogether, but Kakashi knew better, he knew inwardly, Gai was lost and hurting from what that prick, Kai, had said. But, he also knew that no matter how much he despised Kai for how he treated Gai, Kai was also like a fish out of water, he'd put Kurenai on the job of watching over his progress, and what she reported made him rethink his tactic about confronting the man.

"Nightmares?" Kakashi stated, looking at Kurenai with his book in front of his face.

"These aren't run-of-the-mill nightmares, Kakashi. I...One day, a nightmare that was really bad startled me. He was screaming some guy with a foreign name to 'take him instead', to 'kill him, instead'. He's either a retired shinobi or he's been involved in something that has to do with violence and its left its mark." Kurenai said, carefully not mentioning what she was hinting.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Kakashi muttered darkly. He'd seen many-a friend or comrade suffer from the symptoms and never actually recover.

Kurenai nodded. "I don't think Kai-san was being deliberately evasive when he refused to marry Gai all these years. Yes, I think its wrong he was using Gai for sex and not actually engaging in a healthier relationship, but...It could be a number of reasons why he refused to admit to Gai what was going on, but, regardless, you shouldn't have meddled."

"He was hurting Gai, and he still is, even if he doesn't mean to." Kurenai gave him a deadpan look. "Fine. Fine! I'll...I'll fix it."

"_Do_ try not to make it worse."

"Whatever. Later!"

(Konoha's bridge, that night)

Kai was looking at the water, replaying what Gai had said to him over and over in his mind. He wanted to go to the man and confess that he **did **love him, but with his job, it was so easy to lose him. Anything could happen and he'd been rotting in his grave, then what? He'd be grieving forever if he lost Gai to a stray kunai or properly timed jutsu. Sure, Gai wasn't the most attractive of lovers with his hairstyle and bushy eyebrows, and that ridiculous jumpsuit he didn't know why he wore, but...Gai **understood** him, even when he was crying over Ron or Hermione's death, or how many people died that he knew. Gai protected him from his nightmares and fears, and even if he yelled and demanded he leave, Gai respected his wishes and said he loved him. No matter how badly he treated the man, Gai **always** came back. 'But not this time. You pushed too far, you hurt him too much, you were so damn stubborn, now look at you: You're alone.' He thought bitterly to himself.

"The moon looks so lonely tonight, doesn't it?" A deep, baritone voice from his right said. Kai looked to his right to see a tall, shaggy blonde haired, blue eyed, handsome young man, in a jonin vest and Konoha headband tied to his left shoulder. "And the river must seem beautiful, but whatever's going on, that's no reason to commit suicide."

"I wasn't." Kai muttered.

"You've got a look in your eye that I've seen in the eyes of many. The look shinobi get when they've seen too much pain and death. I'm not going to shove a bunch of morals down your throat, but you seem to have your head on right, mostly, so, do the right thing, and whatever's bothering you, you should go to someone you trust and tell them what's going on." The jonin walked past Kai and Kai didn't say anything until he was almost across the bridge to the othe side.

"Wait, your name?"

"...Kiiroi." With that, he body flickered away.

(Team 9 Training Grounds, next morning)

As Kakashi pretended to oversee the spar going on between he and Gai's team, he silently observed the man he considered his best friend. Gai, outwardly, seemed fine, as he was yelling tips to Lee and complimenting Sakura's "flames of youth", but it was subtle things, like how he'd rub at his temples or underneath his eyes, and shift his feet every few seconds. He knew Gai was agitated. Just as he opened his mouth to stop the spar and pull Gai aside for a heart to heart, he noticed _him_. "Gai."

Something in his voice must've alerted Gai because he didn't look away from the spar. "YOSH! My youthful students and the delightful Team 7, an amazing performance as always, but sadly, I must cut this short. Until next time, may your flames of youth continue to burn brightly!" With a nice guy pose, he abruptly began to walk away, ignoring his student's shouts and Kakashi's shock. He speed walked, trying to put distance in between he and Kai, but Kai was running after him.

"Gai." Faster, Gai walked, breaking into a jog.

"Gai!" Then he broke into a run.

"GAI!" He fled as fast as he could. The foliage blurred and meshed together as tears fell down his face, and he kept running, unaware of where he was running. "I LOVE YOU, MAITO GAI!" The shout tore through the streets of Konoha and like a kunai, pierced Gai's heart. He stopped running, he almost stopped breathing. Everything seemed so quiet, and he knew with that declaration, everyone was really listening. "I...I remember the first time you asked me on a date, you were so nervous, you brought a whole handful of lillies, probably yanked up from someone's yard, but I didn't care because it was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I didn't want to seem easy, though so I turned you down flat."

"How romantic of Gai!" "How stupid are you?"

"I know, right?" Kai laughed bitterly at himself. "Over the years, baby, I took you for granted, but if you give me this last chance, I swear to you, I'll put all my past transgressions right. I love you, and I want to marry you."

"Gai Sensei is getting married...?" "YOSH! ITS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE! SAY YES, GAI SENSEI!" "..."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Gai asked softly, totally unlike his usual loud personality. "That you won't change your mind and hurt me again?"

"Because the ring is right here. As for not hurting you, I can't say I won't because I know I will, one way or the other, but atleast I'll be by your side, as your husband, to make it right. Please say yes." Kai pleaded, on his knees.

"Say yes!" "Be happy, Gai!" "He's the one, take a leap of faith!"

"Yes." Gai breathed. Kai was relieved, but he slipped the plain gold wedding band on his ring finger, and etched inside were the words, 'Through the darkness, I'll be your light.'

The slow progression of mending their friendship and building a relationship was almost maddening to them both, but they knew it had to be done in such a way that they had a firm foundation with no doubts or regrets.

Over a month or so, they progressed to friendly movie outings and dinners in not so intimate settings. They started going to games, instead of just watching them, and after three months there wasn't a night they didn't spend together doing something, unless work interfered.

Six months, being a nice round amount of time in Gai's opinion, was long enough with the tiny baby steps. It was then that he made the first move, taking Gai's hand as the other man watched a movie while he had his nose in a book. And, when Kai got up to head home later, he walked him to the door and kissed him good night.

Three months of casual hand holding and chaste kisses followed the initial ones, and Gai decided the next step had to be Kai's. That didn't mean, however, that he couldn't hint at it. With some carefully placed words and the teeniest of touches here or there, accidental in nature if not thought about, Kai extended their nightly chaste kiss be drawing Gai into his arms and licking his way into the others mouth.

After just one of those kisses, both men knew that slow wasn't going to last anymore. It took only a week for the nightly kisses to turn into nightly make out sessions, which grew longer and longer by the night until one night the inevitable couldn't be staved off anymore.

Kai was laying on Gai, their legs entwined and hips flush together. His own hands were busy holding him somewhat upright as he arched into hands and mouth, moaning softly every time Gai decided to tease one of his sensitive places. For not the first time, Kai wondered just what all sorts of activities Gai had engaged in while they were apart if he was this good at turning him to goo so quickly. He knew the other had never been with a man before, at least not before he left, but he seemed to know just how to touch, where to touch.

The raven-haired man rubbed his hips down into the hardness beneath them as he felt a hand snake down the back of his jeans. He shivered as the hiss that escaped Gai ghosted over the sensitized, moist flesh of his neck. He could feel himself leaking against the inside of his pants and decided a change of position was called for. Gai paused as he felt Kai begin to move, watching as he sat up and slide his legs to straddle Gai's hips. The ebony-haired man licked his lips as he looked up into lust filled eyes and spied the small smirk gracing kiss swollen lips. Not one to lay prone and let his boyfriend do all the work, Gai pulled his hand from the back of Kai's pants, where it had stayed when the other had moved, and ran his hands up the lithe frame above him, taking the shirt with them. Once the barrier of cloth was out of his way, he pulled Kai down and began to lick and suck the pale skin, marking a path as his mouth moved.

The return of the hand down the back of his jeans only made him rock harder, but the addition of the second found him held in a firm grip and unable to move. With a whine, he wiggled against the hold. He wanted to move, to feel all of Gai stretched out against him. Just as he was about to tell Gai to do _something, anything_, though whether it would be a demand or begging he didn't know, he felt the mouth pull away as well.

"Wha..." He looked down at the other in confusion and bordering irritation. _Why the hell was he stopping?_ If he planned to leave it as it was, Kai was going to kill him.

"Before we... I need..." Gai sighed. It was going to be harder to say than he thought. "Say it again, Kai. I need to hear it. I want to do this right." Gai's gaze flicked between meeting Kai's and staring at all the red marks he'd left on the pale chest. Bestowing a small, chaste kiss, Kai whispered one small sentence. Six words that he was terrified to say before. Six words he hoped were about to cement the rest of his life with the man below him.

They both hissed as Gai finally slowly pushed inside. A few thrusts later, Kai felt safe enough to stroke himself. They were both close, and he was confident that he would not come too long before his lover. He let his body move with Gai's, riding the waves of pleasure, the fire burning through his blood, the electricity across his skin. The coupling was basic. There was no finesse, no grace, but the passion and emotion didn't give Kai time to notice.

All too soon, it was over. Kai felt both energized and tired at the same time, as he came all over himself. He panted and watched Gai's face closely as it contorted in pleasure. He whimpered at both the feel and sight of Gai coming. The way Gai's seed coated and warmed his insides made him shiver and moan.

Gai smiled down at Kai, slowly pulling free from the limp body beneath him. With the last of his energy, he lifted him up and carried him to his bedroom. He got him in bed then went to get a damp cloth, cleaning himself off before going to do the same to Kai, who smiled at him with a dopey smile as he did. Once done, he returned to his lover and got them under the covers and held him close.

Just as they were about to drift into welcome sleep, he heard that sentence again, in his memory. That small sentence. Six little words. He smiled and kissed Kai lovingly even though he was mostly asleep. "I love you, Kai. Your eyes are the reason why I wear this jumpsuit and call myself the Green Beast, its all for you." The small smile on the blacksmith' face was the last thing he saw before he fell into a peaceful sleep. In his mind, that little sentence played again.

_Gai, I'm in love with you._

They were married a week later. No questions asked, no one discouraged them.

* * *

And thats a wrap. At midnight, this is what bordeom did to me. Like it? Please review.


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